(Narrator) Let me catch you up on the last three days. Not long after the pope's sudden death, Jake arrived to arrest Christopher. He put up no resistance as he was taken to a magic negation cell. He spent two days in that cell, waiting for his trial. We now come to today. Christopher is chained to a special metal pole in the centre of the courtroom that seals his magic abilities. His siblings and acquaintances are in the audience, impatiently waiting for the verdict. After several minutes of waiting, the emperor himself walks in and takes his seat as judge for the trial. He listens to the stories behind the case. Christopher pleads guilty for the murder of the pope. There you have it. All up to date now.
"I will now give my verdict." Emperor Octavianus says.
Everyone watches on intently, waiting for the decision.
"I can give you three options. The first option is 30 years of slave labour." the Emperor says, holding up a finger.
Christopher grimaces at the Emperor.
Octavianus then puts up two fingers and says, "Next is servitude as a permanent mage for the empire."
Christopher's disgust grows. Heather mutters, "Calm down brother." through an ant she placed in his hair. He didn't show any signs of noticing, but he calmed down a little.
"The last option for you, Mr Newman, is lifelong banishment." the Emperor states.
Christopher takes his time to answer before raising his head. The Emperor stops him and says, "Think about your decision, young man. I will give you twenty-four hours to decide. The Empire will respect whatever decision you make."
(Narrator) What a commanding leader. He strikes me as a fair and noble man. He has a rather substantial amount of mana, too. No wonder the Empire is still standing. They are surrounded by every other country but still stand tall as the most powerful human nation in history.
Christopher was taken back to his cell by several high-ranking soldiers and an hour of solitude was broken by his brother and sister yelling from the other side of the bars.
"Brother! What are you going to do?" Heather screams.
"I-I don't have a clue." tears run down Christopher's face. "I don't want to work for the Empire, or be a slave." he continues.
"You're going to pick banishment?" Haider asks.
"I don't know." Christopher lowers his head.
"Whatever you pick, we will be with you always. Isn't that right, Haider?" Heather says.
Haider nods and Christopher says, "I can't let you do that for me. This is my fault. I need to deal with the repercussions on my own."
"Whether or not you approve isn't up for discussion. We're your brother and sister. We won't abandon you when you may need us." Haider says, his throat tightening.
Christopher looks up and smiles. "Thank you guys."
(Narrator) Fade out... hehehehehe.
It's the next day and back in the courtroom. The Emperor takes his seat and asks, "So.. What is it? What is your decision?"
A long deathly silence fills the room as Christopher raises his head and says, "I refuse to be a servant to this empire and being a slave isn't much better, so I choose banishment."
"I respect your resolve and decision. From now on. The individual known as Christopher Newman is banished from this land. He will only be allowed contact though letters and messages sent from outside the country. Any land or funded living spaces will be refunded in full, as well as any damages caused by the individual be an act of terrorism. All citizenship of the individual will be revoked and reentry only available by a person of higher power. Such as I or nobles of the Empire. You have two days to say goodbye to loved ones before you make your way out of this land." Emperor Octavianus says with a professional and commanding presence.
A gavel slams down and the Emperor leaves the room. Christopher is unshackled from his restraints and given back his cloak. The onlooking bystanders of the courtroom slowly filter out, with only the twins and the adventurers left to chat with him.
"Hey guys." Christopher says shyly.
"How are you feeling?" Llamiryl asks.
"I'm ok. I've given this a lot of thought." Christopher answers.
"We're going to miss you three." Mizubi says.
"Thanks, I'll miss-. Wait, what do you mean, three?" Christopher asks.
"Did you seriously think that we would leave you alone? Plus, you carry all our things, so you'll need to grab my bedroom stuff." Haider says.
"I can't let you guys do that for me!" Christopher whines.
"It's not like we're going to be wasting our lives. We'll just go to school in another country." Heather says.
"*sigh* I can't stop you." Christopher moans.
Heather and Haider smile and giggle. Thordis puts her arm round Christopher's neck and vigorously rubs her knuckle on his head. "Don't make trouble out of yourselves, ok?" she says.
"Ow! Ok ok. Just stop hurting me!" Christopher says.
Thordis stops and puts her hands on her hips while she laughs.
Krenn has tears streaming down his face. "Don't leave Krenn!" he says, trying to give Heather a death-grip hug.
"Woah, big guy. I'm sure we'll meet again." Heather says, inching away from him with each step.
Mizubi approaches Haider and fixes up his hair a little. "Make sure that you drink and eat plenty. Grow stronger and maybe the Emperor will revoke Christopher's banishment one day.*sniffle*"
"We will. We need to get going. There are plenty of people that we need to say goodbye to." Christopher interrupts.
"You're right. Now, get going. Send a letter once you get settled in and we can come visit one day." Thordis says.
Christopher, Haider and Heather take off and immediately prepare to leave the country. First, they head back to the inn where they grabbed Haider's stuff. Haider insisted Zoey should keep the money that paid for the rooms. Next was Rach and Steve's apothecary. Christopher bought a vast supply of potions and bid them farewell. Finally, they sent a letter back to Dungannon, explaining to their father, Heddwyn what had transpired. The next day they hired Kate to take them east, Past Bogel and Tribut to the Maranus border. At each village, they restock their supplies.
"This is as far as I can take you. I don't have permission to take my business into other countries." Kate says.
"Thank you a bunch Kate. we're going to miss you." Heather says. She leaps onto Kate for a hug.
"Oof. I'll miss you guys too!" Kate chokes up on her words. "*sniffle* Alright, get going. It's going to be dangerous to wander in unfamiliar areas. Be vigilant when around others and eat plenty, ok?" She holds Heather by the shoulders and fixes up her dress.
"We will." Heather replies, water welling up in her eyes.
They say their last goodbyes and the three of them pay the fee to cross the border.
"So this is it. Our new future awaits us." Haider says, looking at his siblings."
"We're going to feel so out of place here." Christopher says.
"What do you mean?" Heather asks.
"The Kingdom of Maranus has a dominant species that's different from what we are used to seeing. The laws and system are vastly different too." Christopher explains, holding a hand under his chin.
"I see. But you know everything about other countries, so we should be fine." Haider says. Feeling slightly more nervous than before.
"Not necessarily. It's very possible that the Empire of Stocaea could be using propaganda to alter history within it in some sense. In other words. Directing only what they want to present to the public." Christopher firmly states.
"I see. So I guess you're going to be reading a bunch again?" Haider asks, worried about the prospect.
"If we want a handle on this country, yeah." Christopher replies, his eyes glittering with exuberance.
"Ugh. These next few months are gonna be hell!" Haider moans. His head tilts up to the sky.
The three take off and follow a map that a woman at the border sold to them. They walk down a road that leads to the nearest town. Before they get there, they enter a woodland area, trees towering over their heads. Sunlight leaking through only rarely.
A powerful wind comes in, branches snap. Leaves fly past. Then the rattling of bones. A deathly aura swoops in and the rattling gets louder, and louder, and louder. Seconds later, a massive shadow flies past them. The kids look up, frozen in fear. A creature made from bones flew overhead and let out a deafening roar, spinning around to what seemed like an attack.
(Narrator) I think this is a good time to stop... I know this cliff-hanger is killing you right now.
(THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER OF BOOK 1 OF 3. PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING THE FINAL FULLY EDITED BOOK AT THE SAME NAME ON AMAZON WHEN IT BECOMES AVALABLE SOMETIME AROUND JUNE 2022)